This photo taken with a mobile phone in Port Sudan shows a group of displaced individuals aboard a bus ahead of returning to Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan, as part of a government program for voluntary return, Feb. 10, 2025. (Photo by Urqia Elzaki/Xinhua)
KHARTOUM, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- With mixed feelings of joy and fear, Enas El-Tom, 37, boarded a bus with her three children, embarking on a journey back to her home in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan, after nearly a year in a displacement camp in Port Sudan, Red Sea State.
Since early February, authorities in Red Sea State have been organizing voluntary return trips for displaced people back to central Sudan, following the Sudanese army's recapture of Wad Madani on Jan. 11.
"My feelings are mixed -- I'm relieved to return home and escape the hardship of the displacement camp, but I fear the unknown. We don't know the security situation in Wad Madani or the condition of our homes. We're also concerned about the lack of basic services," said El-Tom, a widow.
"But home is still home -- our sanctuary, and I can't wait to see it again," she added.
At the bus station in Port Sudan, Halima Ismail, another displaced individual, stood next to a bus, placing her two large bags on the ground. "These are all we have," she told Xinhua, "just clothes for my family."
Ismail believes that returning home will be the best remedy for her father, who has suffered from heart disease for over 20 years. "Displacement has taken a toll on him -- being away from his home, friends, and neighbors has worsened his health," she said.
Though eager to return to Wad Madani, she was heartbroken to learn from relatives that their house had been badly damaged after being hit by a shell, and everything inside had been looted. She worried deeply about her father's reaction when he finds out.
Earlier returnees to Wad Madani said the place is slowly recovering from the intense clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but scars of destruction remain.
Adil Musa, who returned to his home in the Maringan neighborhood after more than a year of displacement in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, said he still fears walking the streets of Wad Madani due to the risk of unexploded ordnance or landmines planted by the RSF, which controlled the city for over a year.
Moreover, basic services, including electricity, water, food, and healthcare are still unavailable, he said.
The Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company suggested that restoration of power supply could take time, as the main cables and transformers had been stolen.
Despite local efforts to clean the streets and clear debris from aerial and artillery bombardments, much of the city remains littered with waste, particularly in key neighborhoods and markets.
Small police units have begun securing streets, government institutions, hospitals, and service centers. With a fuel shortage, animal-drawn carts and bicycles have become the primary means of transport for residents.
Al-Samawal Abdalla, who returned after staying seven months in Kassala, eastern Sudan, said, "The main markets are not functioning, and the scarcity of red and white meat, dairy products, and cooking gas is dire."
As part of a government plan for voluntary return, approximately 10,000 displaced people from the eastern Sudanese cities of Port Sudan, Gedaref, and Kassala have returned to Wad Madani since Feb. 3, according to statistics released by Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission on Feb. 18.
Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between the SAF and RSF since mid-April 2023, claiming at least 29,683 lives by the end of 2024, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group.
The conflict has displaced over 15 million people, either inside or outside Sudan, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration. Enditem.
This photo taken with a mobile phone in Port Sudan shows buses preparing to depart as part of a voluntary return program for displaced individuals heading back to Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan, Feb. 10, 2025. (Photo by Urqia Elzaki/Xinhua)
This photo taken with a mobile phone in Port Sudan shows displaced individuals preparing to leave Port Sudan for Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State in central Sudan, as part of a government program for voluntary return, Feb. 10, 2025. (Photo by Urqia Elzaki/Xinhua)